Regression
by SkyMarauder
Summary: Scorpius Malfoy isn't submissive. It started off as a silly bet that he had only given into for the sake of his reputation, not t mention his lack of money. Why not place such a wager? Things turned serious then hurtful, poisonous. Scorpius Malfoy didn't intend for any of these things to happen. Can he prove to Rose Weasley that he isn't like his father and he has changed?


A/N: I love reviews so don't hesitate to leave one and I'll be sure to have a read of your stories.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any of the characters in this story. They all belong to J.K. Rowling.

Scorpius sat surrounded by a group of his friends in the usual place they occupied; the library. Much to Rose Weasley's dismay, the Slytherin boys had suddenly started to become inhabitants of the perpetual place at the beginning of their seventh and final year at Hogwarts. God knows why, they would be in the vicinity anyway. Rose had never even seen any of them pick up a book. Except one but of course, heeding to her Father's warnings, she would never dare to venture into conversation with him. She knew too well what her father would do to her if this was to happen and the thought itself, made Rose sick to her stomach.

Scorpius and his friends were initially talking about N.E. which were fast approaching but the topic of conversation soon changed to a certain Rose Weasley when one companion saw Scorpius steal a glance at the redhead. And as boys do, his friend decided to tease and badger the blond-haired boy until he was forced to react. Scorpius' brims furrowed, his hues darkening slightly as he shook his head in disbelief, a nervous laugh slipping from his mouth.

"Her? Seriously?"

"We saw you looking, Scorpius. You can't deny it." One of his friends piped up, a pompous smile on his face.

"I just happened to be glancing that way. Now can we leave it?" snapped Scorpius, he pursed his lips, arms folded most indignantly.

His friends held their hands up defensively, clearly mocking the boy as they sniggered behind his back. One friend, whom Scorpius counted not to be his best friend, but his closest friend, sat beside him, giving him a supportive pat on the back.

"It's alright, mate. We all know you wouldn't like a girl like her. Her mother is a filthy mudblood." A snort followed his sentence, only angering Scorpius further.

"Of course I wouldn't. You're all preposterous, Caelum." Scorpius retorted, his arms becoming undone in a moment, one hand immediately ascending to his chin, stroking his stubble lazily.

"But the boys and I have been thinking. We've got a little proposition for you."

"Proposition?" This snapped Scorpius out of his thoughts, his head jerking upwards to face his friends, apprehension mounting within.

"I believe that's what I said." confirmed his friend, a smug look plastered across his pale face. "We have come to a conclusion, that if you're interested, we'll all chip in and give you twenty galleons."

_Fifty galleons? Bloody hell... _Scorpius was in need of a few things and with an upcoming Hogsmeade trip; it seemed the perfect time to give in to the bet. He'd spent the last lot of money his father had sent him on some alcohol due to a few raucous parties hosted in the Room of Requirement. His mind mulled over things, a slender digit tapping on his chin as he came to the decision of accepting the offer and placing the wager. He held his hand up, his teeth grinding together as he eyed Caelum who wore a grin.

"Well, one condition." Scorpius slightly withdrew his hand away from his friend before the boy could grasp it. "It depends what it is."

Caelum cleared his throat, his thumb rising to wipe the corner of his lip and he nodded. "Fifty galleons are yours my friend if you choose to accept our bet. And that bet is..." He rose from his seat, waving his arms in a flamboyant demeanour as words began to spill from his mouth in a whisper, to avoid others overhearing. "You must ask that Rose Weasley girl out /and/ you must make her fall for you. By any means necessary."

Scorpius' slits narrowed, quite startled by what the bet included. He remained silent, a frown etched on his face. He thought the idea was stupid and pretentious; reminding himself that that was the type of people he was friends and acquaintances with.

"I suppose that's a no. We knew you wouldn't do it." One of his friends muttered, nudging his neighbour.

"He's become soft."

"I don't even think he's a Slytherin anymore."

"There must be something wrong with him."

Not usually being a submissive character, Scorpius balled his hand into a fist and very quickly, his knuckles beginning to turn white due to the amount of pressure Scorpius was putting on himself. It killed Scorpius to give in, especially to his friends, but living up to his expectations always came first.

"I'll do it." spoke Scorpius through gritted teeth, casting his eyes upon the group around him and he clasped Caelum's hand in his own to signify that the bet was now in order from that moment on.

His friends erupted in sniggers, a few clapping him on the back and one even ruffling his hair. He grimaced at the certain person who ruffled his hair, attempting to smooth his blonde locks down to some avail. Being the kindest friends they could, Scorpius' friends departed with curt nods, leaving the boy to dwell upon the previous few minutes. Not only was he reluctant to approach the girl for she may turn him away, but if her father was to catch wind of this, then Scorpius would be in some trouble, not only from her father but from his own. What would his father say if he was to find out that Scorpius had given hospitality to someone like her? Despite this, Scorpius was obstinate to not only win his fifty galleons, in which he was in dire need of, but to also converse with Rose for the first time. With Slytherin and Gryffindor known for many scuffs and disagreements, this meant the pair had never had the chance to be acquaintances, let alone friends.

Rose's eyes trailed Scorpius' friends' movements as they left the library and wasn't surprised that he alone remained. She couldn't help but watch him as her hand fluctuated up and down on the page, scribbling down History of Magic notes, ready for the lesson. It was then that she realised she shared that class with him and she sat in front of him, which made a faint pink blush appear on her pale petals, knowing that he could see everything she did. Ever since the boy had started remaining in the library instead of leaving like his friends, Rose had developed a great interest in him because there was something about him that deeply intrigued her. There were little Slytherin's who appreciated the library, even less who appreciated books. Most would come for a quick getaway from a teacher or another student or in some cases, for a quiet spot to snog.

As Scorpius searched through an aisle, he thought he saw Rose Weasley quickly glance at him before returning her gaze to whatever she was doing with a blush on her cheeks.

_Oh, what striking features that girl had._ Knowing it was time to at least get some headway, he walked over to her, his shoes scuffling on the floor each time he made a step.

In the corner of Rose's eye, she saw Scorpius walk over. The odd matter was that she didn't mind he was walking over to her and when he stopped, her eyes travelled up from his shoes up to his handsome face. Their eyes met and a frown appeared on her face, quite confused at why he of all people, was standing by her.

"Is anyone sitting here?" He gestured to the chair next to Rose, a small smile playing on his lips.

Rose shook her head incoherently, a coy smile on her face as she grabbed her bag from the chair, carefully placing it on the floor beside her own. Her breathing hitched as she sat back up and her eyes met with his in some form of romantic stalemate. They held each other's gaze for a brief moment before Scorpius cleared his throat, tilting his head to look away from Rose. Rose sat there, stunned at their brief encounter as well as not knowing what to say next, fearing she might say the wrong thing.

"So what are you doing?" He asked, placing one hand on top of the other, his back straightening.

Rose snapped out of it, softly nibbling at her bottom lip as she looked down at her History of Magic notes. She mentally cursed herself for being so dreamy.

"Oh, I'm just doing some History of Magic homework for next lesson." She mumbled, her hand fiddling with her blouse as she watched him nervously.

"Sounds fun." He retorted with a slight laugh, noticing her evident discomfort. "Would you like me to leave?"

"No." She said all too quickly, almost sounding desperate. He must have noticed this as the corner of his lip twitched and curl into a smirk. "I mean, you can if you want. I'd like your company if you'd like mine."

"I'd be delighted to you have your company." Scorpius retorted, his fingers lightly tapping on the table. "You're in my History of Magic class, aren't you?"

"I am." Rose confirmed, nodding in addition. She clasped her hands together, her nerves ticking like a time bomb seconds from exploding.

He looked at the watch draped around his wrist before replying. It looked like he had a deep interest in either the time or very little interest in Rose but he was simply waiting for another minute to pass and his thin lips pursed together. During this time, Rose had been watching intently, quite intrigued at the attention he gave the watch. Her head snapped the other way when he coughed lightly.

"Can I accompany you to History of Magic?" He asked, tapping the lens of his watch with a grin. "It's time to go."

Rose hadn't realised the time and if she had, she would have been burying all her books into her bag, juggling those few that she couldn't fit in. Thrown by his offer, her mouth gaped open slightly, her lips parting and she stumbled over her words to accept.

"Um, uh. Yes, that'd be nice." delivered Rose, in a series of drabbles.

With the help of Scorpius, Rose bundled her things into her bag and they left the library quickly, heading towards the West Wing of the castle where the much dreaded class of History of Magic was awaiting them. The two of them together must have been an erratic sight to all, for the looks they were given were nothing but strange, except from Scorpius' friends who looked most pleased and rather boastful, wearing smirks as the pair walked past.

In Scorpius' head, it felt extremely odd walking next to Rose but somehow, it felt right. He didn't feel intimidating, he didn't feel left out like he always did. Being a Malfoy, many people had different views on him. Firstly, there were the people that were scared of him or disagreed with what his family did during the Second Wizarding War thus they avoided him and muttered things about him. Next, there were those who did want to give him a chance but felt that they themselves would be looked down upon if they were to become friends with him. There were those Slytherin's who thought he was a traitor, he was scum. And lastly, there were those who didn't care, even though there was very little.

When they arrived outside the classroom after a long walk up the winding stairs of the West Wing, they arrived at the classroom and they entered, the pair taking their usual seats with Rose sat on the middle row and Scorpius sat straight behind her. Listening to Professor Binns, as usual made everyone fall asleep of course except Rose. She tried to keep herself awake out of respect and of course, if her mother was to find out, she would be most disappointed. As the lesson dragged on, Rose's eyelids grew heavier until she was accepted into the bliss of sleep. Moments later, she felt a sharp kicking on her chair. She turned around to see a very wide awake Scorpius Malfoy who was holding a note. He passed it to her with a wink and Rose took it reluctantly, only opening it when she had fully turned back around so he couldn't see her reaction.

Rose's blue eyes flickered across the piece of parchment as she read the same words over and over again; _'Meet me in the Astronomy Tower tonight at midnight. –S.'_

Her eyes widened slightly when she finally took it in, carefully writing a reply: _'Such an offer for someone I've just started speaking to. Why? -R.' _

She held it behind her head and felt him grip it softly, pulling it towards him.

He laughed softly, scribbling a reply back to the redhead. _'I would like to get to know you, silly. –S.'_

'_And why would you like to get to know me? -R.'_

'_You seem like an intriguing character. Thus, I sat next to you less than an hour ago but of course, time doesn't matter. –S.'_

Rose tapped her quill against her cheek, delaying the reply further as she thought. She heard him sigh a few times which made her chuckle inside, knowing he was desperate for a reply. _'Interesting to know. -R.'_

'_So is it a yes? –S. '_

'_Yes, it's a reluctant yes but a yes all the same. -R.'_

'_I'm glad to hear. Can't wait. –S.'_

It was those last few words he'd written to her that had bought a smile to her face the most. He actually wanted to see her and for some crazy reason, Rose had accepted. Maybe she was out of her mind or maybe she was for once, going along with what she wanted to do and nothing felt better for the youth in revolt.


End file.
